The show begins with Kayleigh Shaw (Bethany Antonia) playing with Carlton Flynn’s necklace. Kayleigh tells her friend, Bea (Rachel Andrews) that her sister, Laura Shaw (Tallulah Byrne) is taking her clothes, but denies it. She hid a small camera in her closet to catch the culprit that turns out to be her mother, Megan “Cassie” Pierce (Cush Jumbo). Megan is getting dressed for a charity conference, with the help of her partner, Dave Shaw (Daniel Francis).

Kayleigh and Bea follow Megan to the Imperial Hotel. She exits the hotel, wearing a sexy red dress and a light blonde wig. They follow her to Vipers and watch her go inside. Kayleigh asks why her mother would come to Vipers. Bea says she came on purpose. They agree to return next weekend for the Carnival.

Kaleigh and Bea arrive at the Carnival, where they meet Carlton who offers them a ride. After a dance, he grabs alcoholic beverages from the bar. He looks around to see if anyone is looking and pours a powdered substance into one of the drinks. When he delivers them to the table, he is careful to give Kayleigh the spiked drink. Bea sticks her finger in Kayleigh’s drink, and her nail polish turns dark. She switches the drinks and urges Kayleigh to leave. When they get outside, she tells her what happened. Before he could get out the front door, Carlton begins to sway. Kayleigh shows Bea the keys to his car. He orders them to give him the keys back as they take off running, with him staggering behind them.

Kayleigh puts Carlton’s necklace in her nightstand drawer. Megan and Dave are having breakfast when Laura and Jordan Shaw (Dylan Francis) emerge from their bedrooms. Megan enters Kayleigh’s bedroom and asks for her cellphone. She doesn’t have school today. She tells Meghan, Laura took her red dress. Meghan agrees to talk to her.

Meghan has a flashback while driving to Lorraine Griggs’ (Sarah Parish) apartment. She stands outside as Lorraine approaches from behind. Lorraine admits to seeing Stewart Green in Vipers. He came in asking for her. She went back to Vipers once without thinking of the consequences to say goodbye. Lorraine comforts her when she breaks down. She tells her about visiting Attorney Harry Sutton (Eddie Izzard) and the men who attacked her. He shoots up and works full-time. They hug before she leaves.

Brian Goldberg (Jack Shalloo) greets detective Michael Broome (James Nesbitt), “Cluttered desk, cluttered mind.” He asks if Carlton has been found. Broome looks at the digital investigation board. Several clicks on the screen do not produce what he is looking for. He arrives as Vipers, where he takes the surveillance storage unit. Before leaving, he leaves Rudy (Aidan Kelly) a note that reads “It’s called cooperation.”

Ray Levine (Richard Armitage) inspects his images of a bloody rock, remains of a building, and Carlton. He places the images in a yellow envelope and heads to the police department. A surveillance camera spooks him. He places the envelope inside a squad car as two police officers arrest a suspect.

Simona Farr (Andi Osho) is waiting on Ray in front of his office. Her baby is due in two weeks. He gives her a copy of his book of military photographs for keeping him safe under enemy fire. She is looking for Guy Tatum (Thomas Dominique) who is missing. Ray and Guy went to the Carnival. Ray leaves Guy a voicemail to alert him of Simona’s visit. He has a flashback of Guy pushing a man at Vipers.

Megan is parked in front of Hannibal’s Animals when Harry emerges to meet with a female client. He promises to work on her paperwork. Megan enters as the client leaves. He is stunned by Megan’s presence. Harry says he thought after she ran off with Stewart, he would never see her again. She denies running off with Stewart, but instead, ran away from him. She isn’t a pole dancer anymore. Stewart left with a lot of money. She tells him about visiting Stewart’s house that is on the market. Stewart may be living in the basement of the house.

Harry meets with Stewart’s wife, Sarah Green (Belinda Stewart-Wilson) to lure her away from the house. He claims a report, claiming the house underwent structural repairs. As they walk behind the house, Megan enters to inspect the basement. As she reaches for a bag, it loudly clumps to the floor. The bag is filled with her dance videos. She rushes upstairs and out the door before Sarah returns.  The basement has a large door like a bunker. She shows him pictures of her children. He suggests she talk to Broome.

Broome talks to Leanne Morgan (Steph Lacey) about their new office while she inspects Vipers’ surveillance recorder unit. The office does not have a smell. Brian holds a short meeting regarding Carlton’s case. The surveillance footage on the 16^th has been scrubbed. Rudy calls Broome to demand his surveillance storage unit back. Dancer, Tawny Allure (Isabelle Connolly) requests a meeting with Broome. Erin Cartwright (Jo Joyner) calls to tell Broome she has a problem. He orders her to wait outside.

Broome meets Erin at her car to get a ride to Vipers. Broome is shocked to see her son in the backseat. He wanted her to sit in on Tawny’s interview, which is impossible with the baby. He gives the baby something to stop him from crying. She turns around and sees it all over his face, “Great dad you would have made.”

Broome meets Lorraine who escorts him to Tawney. She denies knowing Carlton’s whereabouts. She is saving money for nurse training. He enticed her with a fistful of cash to give him a private dance. They drive up the coast and get out of his car. She tells him to stop when he tried to put money down her shirt. He breaks her fingers when she tried to stop him. She refuses to press charges against Carlton. To qualify for nursing training, you must have a clean record. Tawney leaves Broome and Lorraine alone. She asks about the surveillance recorder, which he agrees to have sent over later. He gives her his number and asks for hers in return. She responds, “I’m not that easy anymore.”

Tawny is approached by a Barbie (Poppy Gilbert) and Ken (Hyole O’Grady) who have good news for her. Barbie knocks her out as she tries to go inside her apartment. Barbie orders her to tell them everything she knows about Carlton.

Bea visits Kayleigh to alert her Carlton is missing. She shows her a news article about him missing since the Carnival. He could be lying injured in the woods. They go search for him.

Tawny’s hands are tied behind her back and her mouth is gagged. Barbie asks her about Carlton’s location. When she only muddles, Barbie says she needs some persuasion. They sing as she burns her fingers with a woodburning tool and pushes her fractured fingers back until they crack. Tawny screams in pain.

Kayleigh receives a call from Megan as they drive to the woods near Vipers. She tries Laura who is on her way home from school. Jordan wasn’t on the bus.

Brian isn’t happy with Erin bringing her young son to the police station. Broome tells him about Carlton breaking Tawny’s fingers. Erin alerts Broome about a missing person report for Guy Tatum. He disappeared on the same night as Carlton. He says two men go missing 17 years to the date of Stewart’s disappearance. He demands the last 17 years of missing person reports. Brian begrudgingly takes Erin’s son.

Laura calls Megan to tell her Jordan isn’t home. His friend says he was at the skateboard park talking to a man. She calls Dave who is watching soccer with his mother, Frances Shaw (Alibe Parsons). He becomes extremely concerned when he sees a missing person report for Carlton.

Erin and Broome are searching missing person reports for the last 17 years. He hates digital police files and demands the paper version. Stewart, Carlton, and Guy, all went missing on April 16. He wants to check the last seen date for other missing person cases. Jacob Farrell, Peter Berman, and G reg Wagman went missing about the same time. Broome says it is a “serial killer.” Ray’s images have arrived at the police station.

Ray is on the pier when he receives a text from Simona. She has contacted the police. He tries Guy’s phone again as he enters his apartment. He hears a phone ringing upstairs, where he finds his phone in a black bag. He has a flashback of a fight at Vipers.

Broome has 10 men who went missing around the same time as Stewart. Erin shows him Ray’s image of Carlton in the woods. He questions why the pictures were dropped off anonymously.

Megan visits the skatepark to look for Jordan. Two boys (Luca Fereday and Raffi Fereday) at the skatepark saw Jordan talking to a bald man. She searches around the skatepark, yelling his name.

Sarah finds the bag of Megan’s dance tapes.

Broome arrives at the edge of the woods, where Ray took the pictures of Carlton. Ray tosses Guy’s cellphone and bag in a garbage bin.

Wearing a hoodie and rubber boots pulls up in front of a ramp, leading to the river. He puts the car in gear and lets it drive into the river. The car fills up with water as the episode comes to an end.

 

Stay Close Review

Just when you thought you figured it out, another plot twist changes your mind. While plot twists are good, too many become cliché. If the introduction of new plot twists continues at this rate, our head will be spinning before we reach the halfway point. This is obvious, as the confusion has already set it.

I am a big fan of James Nesbitt, but his makeup looks like a poor attempt to cover up his true age. If you wanted a young detective, use a young actor. Do not try to wipe 10 years off the face of a 56-year-old actor just to add star power to the production.

With so many characters, only a few will have adequate screen time. There will not be enough time for viewers to build that much-needed connection with the characters.

Get more Stay Close recaps here.